Offensive landscaping - fact or phallacy?

Gillian Greensite's sculptred eugenia shrubs are an eyesore for some of her neighbors.
Sentinel Photo by Dan Coyro
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Fact or fallacy: Sexy tree too much for some Westside neighbors
By DAN WHITE
Sentinel staff writer
A Westside resident called the cops Monday to report an allegedly phallic tree.

Officers responded to the Liberty Street home but found no wrongdoing. They said the 20-footer — actually an evergreen hedge of the Luma genus — is protected by its owner’s right to artistic freedom.

"We contacted the city attorney," said Sgt. Brad Goodwin. "It could be interpreted anywhere from being free speech to being artistic. It’s really nothing we have control over."

All trees can be seen as "phallic," but some would argue this eugenia is especially so. Viewed from the front, the hedge looks to have testicles, or perhaps bosoms.

Eugenia is a common plant noted for white flowers and edible fruits, according to the Sunset Western Garden Book. Sunset says the plant "performs best" in well-drained soil.

The owner of the tree, Gillian Greensite, said she found it peculiar the plant has been there at least 15 years and suddenly someone is mad about it. She said no one has complained to her about the plant.

Greensite, director of UC Santa Cruz’s rape prevention and counseling program, also questioned what the offended neighbor was really seeing in this tree.

"If they want to see phallic, they see phallic, I guess. I see trees," said Greensite, an outspoken advocate of tree preservation in the city.

She added the eugenia was "not trimmed for any particular purpose."

The complaining neighbor could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

A second neighbor, who asked that her name not be used, said she found the tree irksome but has grown "numb" to it over the years. But she said it’s annoying to "all of a sudden hear kids screeching and laughing about the tree.

"They’re good neighbors, believe me," she said, referring to Greensite’s household. "(But) we have older folks around here."

The neighbor also said the tree has become a beacon for annoying sightseers.

Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. -- Edward Abbey

Heh heh...

If those were my trees, I'd have a real hard time cutting them down... even if I were facing a stiff fine.

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